Details of some birds you might expect to see throughout the year and some rarities which have turned up in the past can be found within the habitats page of this site.


The birds recorded below include records of sightings and also of birds which have been caught and recorded as part of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Ringing Programme.

March

7th March: Once again a gloriously sunny day, but looks can be deceptive as it remains bitterly cold. A wintry theme continues with the Hen Harrier again hunting at Steart and 4 Greylag Goose in the Parrett Estuary.

6th March: Most of the interest today was from the Parrett Estuary. A ringtail Hen Harrier could be seen hunting Steart Point, while in the estuary itself there were 25 Shoveler, 87 Teal, 157 Wigeon, 600 Knot, 5000 Dunlin and 42 Oystercatcher. The Red-crested Pochard continues to frequent the pools at Apex and on the Brue Estuary were 118 Redshank, 57 Dunlin and 23 Turnstone. News from the Brean end of the patch included 50 Oystercatchers and 20 Curlew on the beach, 4 Shoveler on the Axe Estuary and 3 Great-crested Grebes (2 on Diamond Farm; 1 on Warren Farm).

5th March: The 2 Brent Goose were present again on the Axe Estuary. Berrow was very poor with only 17 Oystercatcher, 18 Sanderling and 30 Fieldfare.

4th March: A similar selection of birds at the Brue / Parrett estuaries as yesterday with the addition of 6 Greylag Goose that settled briefly on Stert island before quickly moving on and 40 Knot.  Berrow held 5 Curlew, 1 Ringed Plover, 22 Sanderling and around 1,000 Dunlin. There is currently a flock of around 50 Linnet around the beach and dune area..  A Barn Owl was seen at Red road in the evening. It appears that Cetti's Warbler have taken a severe hit at Berrow this winter in the cold weather. Only one bird has been heard in recent weeks at a time when we would expect numbers to be in double figures.

3rd March: Wildfowl at the Brue estuary and Apex were represented by 3 Pochard, 13 Teal, 100+ Wigeon and 38 Shelduck whilst there were 2 Brent Goose at the Axe estuary. Waders at the Brue / Parrett estuary included 100 Oystercatcher, 130 Curlew, 120 Redshank, 83 Turnstone, 30 Grey Plover and c.15,000 Dunlin. A Siskin visited a Berrow garden.

2nd March: High tide over the Parrett / Brue estuary produced 40 Shelduck, 130 Wigeon, 8 Teal, 400 Curlew, 59 Oystercatcher, 6 Turnstone, 160 Redshank and an estimated 15,000 Dunlin. 2 drake Pochard remained on Apex lakes and yesterdays Barnacle Goose was still on the Axe estuary.

1st March: A little more interest today with an unringed Barnacle Goose on the mudflats at the Axe estuary where there were also singles of Ruff and Knot together with 70 Curlew, 300+ Redshank, 34 Golden Plover, 20 Lapwing and a handful of Dunlin. Teal numbered around 80.

February

28th February: The whole month has been extremely quiet and today was no exception with the Brue estuary producing modest totals of 42 Wigeon, 14 Teal, 13 Oystercatcher, 145 Redshank and 300 Dunlin. Only 2 Pochard and the Red Crested Pochard could be found on the adjacent Apex lakes.

27th February: Apex produced 5 Pochard, a drake Shoveler and the usual Red Crested Pochard.

26th February: No one was able to make it into the field today, which was a shame as it appears good numbers of common seabird were displaced into the channel by strong westerlies.

25th February: A small increase in Lesser Blackbacked Gull numbers to 10 at Berrow perhaps hints at some movement. Common Gull numbered 50, whereas waders were represented by 24 Curlew, 30 Oystercatcher, 8 Lapwing, 4 Sanderling and around 1,000 Dunlin.

24th February: Low tide at Berrow could only muster 20 Curlew and 1,500 Dunlin.

23rd February: Just the Red Crested Pochard and drake Pochard to report at Apex.

22nd February: Another morning ruined by rain meant no reports again today.

21st February: Still very quiet with the Axe estuary producing 15 Teal, 30 Golden Plover,  2 Sanderling and 900 Dunlin. Berrow held 33 Oystercatcher, 6 Sanderling and 350 Dunlin.

20th February: The Red Crested Pochard and Pochard remain at Apex lakes

19th February: Very quiet over high tide at Berrow with just 1 Curlew, 30 Oystercatcher and 150 Dunlin.

18th February: An even worse day of weather ensured no one ventured out.

17th February: A morning washout means no news today.

16th February: The only report concerns 100 Dunlin at Berrow.

15th February: There was a drake Shoveler on Apex lakes where the Red Crested Pochard and Pochard remain in residence. The Brue / Parrett estuary area held 36 Oystercatcher, 87 Redshank, c6,000 Dunlin and small numbers of Wigeon and Teal.

14th February: The highlight was a Red Kite circling over the Brue estuary in the afternoon. Berrow produced 67 Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew, 3 Sanderling and 1300 Dunlin.

13th February: A falling tide at Berrow could only produce 36 Curlew, 6 Oystercatcher, 2 Sanderling and 900 Dunlin. Elsewhere in the Berrow area were 2 Raven, 200+ Lapwing and a decent count of 50+ Chaffinch.

12th February: Fieldfare still number in the low to mid hundreds around Berrow where they can often be seen commuting between the coast and inland fields. The Pochard and Red Crested Pochard remain at Apex.

11th February: Another cold raw day with no news.

10th February: No news today.

9th February: Nothing to report other than the continued presence of single Pochard and Red Crested Pochard at Apex.

8th February: Very thin pickings again today. Low tide at Berrow beach produced just 25 Curlew. Yesterdays Brambling was still visiting a Berrow garden feeder.

7th February: The only news concerns a Brambling visiting a Berrow bird feeder.

6th February: Just the smallest of improvements at Berrow with the first 12 Ringed Plover of the year there. Sanderling numbers were up to 50 whilst standard fare included 15 Curlew and 100 Dunlin

5th February: The Brue and Parrett estuaries produced 2,000+ Wigeon, 100+ Teal, 70 Curlew, 75 Oystercatcher, 15 Bar Tailed Godwit, 5 Avocet, 83 Redshank, 92 Turnstone, 1,200 Lapwing and c6,000 Dunlin. Apex held the usual 2 Pochard and Red Crested Pochard and also for the first time this year 3 Great Crested Grebe.

4th February: Pretty poor reward at Berrow again with 50 Curlew, 12 Oystercatcher, 200 Dunlin, 10 Sanderling and 28 Linnet.

3rd February: A day of near constant rain. The only news concerns a report of a Marsh Harrier being chased by gulls as it headed north over Burnham.

2nd February: Since the onset of the cold weather there have been no sightings of Great Crested Grebe at Apex, so it was nice to confirm a pair still in residence nearby on the small lake at Morlands estate. The  2 Pochard and Red Crested Pochard remain in residence at Apex.

1st February: Low tide at the Axe estuary produced 250 Teal, 3 Wigeon, 80 Curlew and c100 Redshank. Fieldfare totalled around 500 at Berrow church this morning. The only other snippet of news concerns a Mistle Thrush on Red road playing fields.

January

31st January: The Green Winged Teal was still on the Axe estuary. Other sightings in the near vicinity included a Merlin, 600+ Lapwing, a handful of Golden Plover and 1 Jack Snipe. Birding at Berrow continues to produce little reward with waders represented by 2 Curlew, 12 Oystercatcher, singles of Sanderling and Redshank and 800+ Dunlin. The Red Crested Pochard remains at Apex together with 2 Pochard.

30th January: The Green-winged Teal was back on the Axe Estuary this morning in company with 120 Teal. Also there were 3 Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper. 2 Jack Snipe were flushed from the adjacent saltmarsh. The rather friendly Red Crested Pochard remains in residence at Apex lakes where there were also 2 Pochard.

29th January: No news today.

28th January: No news today.

27th January: No news today.

26th January: No news today.

25th January: No news today.

24th January: The Red-crested Pochard remains at Apex, and a drake Gadwall and a Shoveler on the Brue Estuary was all that could be mustered.

 23rd January: Not particularly exciting news today. Numbers on the Axe Estuary included 450 Teal, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Wigeon and 500 Dunlin. At Berrow there were 2000 Dunlin, 34 Curlew, 14 Oystercatcher and 25 Sanderling.

22nd January: Very wet, becoming foggy and wet with a brief dry spell before more rain. It eventually stopped raining in the afternoon but remained dull. So did the birds. Red-crested Pochard still taking bread at Apex, but no other news to get excited about.

21st January: A few interesting duck at the Brue estuary with a pair of Shoveler, a drake Gadwall and 2 drake Tufted Duck along with 48 Wigeon and 25 Teal. Waders were represented by c3,000 Dunlin over Stert Island, 45 Oystercatcher on the Parrett estuary, 54 Redshank and 4 Turnstone in the Brue estuary

20th January: A dismal day of constant rain. The only snippet of news concerns the continued presence of the Red Crested Pochard at Apex, together with a Little Grebe and a Pochard.

19th January: The 2 Avocets were still on the Axe estuary, together with a sprinkling of Redshank and Dunlin. Only 150 Teal and 6 Wigeon could be found. Berrow held 25 Sanderling, 33 Oystercatcher and 29 Curlew. The Red Crested Pochard was still at Apex.

18th January: All the news comes from the Axe estuary where the Green Winged Teal remained with 526 Teal. The 2 Avocets were also still present but not surprisingly the Smew appears to have moved on. Other waders there included 53 Oystercatcher, 86 Curlew, 2 Bar Tailed Godwit, 90+ Redshank, 1,000+ Lapwing, 2 Sanderling and 300 Dunlin.

17th January: All the action was at the Axe estuary today with the discovery of a drake Green Winged Teal and a redhead Smew amongst at least 1,000 Teal. 2 Avocet were also on show in the estuary mouth. Other birds there included 200 Wigeon, 200 Redshank, 85 Curlew, 40 Snipe, 2 Jack Snipe, in excess of 1,000 Lapwing and 3 Golden Plover. An Otter was watched swimming across the river Axe at Brean sluice. Berrow produced 20 Curlew, 33 Oystercatcher, 1 Bar Tailed Godwit, 29 Sanderling, 5,000 Dunlin, 600 Fieldfare and 2 Coal Tit.

16th January: A few interesting birds today particularly at Brean / Axe area which produced singles of Avocet, (possibly 2)  Water Pipit and a drake Goosander. The Red Crested Pochard remained at Apex together with the Pochard and Tufted Duck. A pair of Gadwall were on the adjacent Brue estuary.

15th January: At Berrow there were 15 Oystercatcher, 3 Redshank, 24 Knot, 7 Sanderling and 2,500 Dunlin. Fieldfare numbers are still high with well in excess of 1,000 present. Brean / Axe produced 1 Black Tailed Godwit and 15 Golden Plover. A number of presumed Winter Moth were on the wing along Red road.

14th January: The Great Bustard (wing tag 22) showed well again this afternoon in fields adjacent to the Axe estuary. Also there were 20 Golden Plover and 9 Snipe. The Red Crested Pochard, Tufted Duck and Pochard remained at Apex. Nearby 2 Grey Plover were on Burnham beach.

13th January: The Great Bustard was relocated this afternoon associating with Mute Swans on the fields by the Axe estuary behind Warren farm. A late afternoon visit to Apex lakes produced the surprise of the day in the form of a drake Red Crested Pochard. Also present were single drake Pochard and Tufted Duck. Elsewhere, the bushes and fields still hold good numbers of winter Thrushes and Lapwings. Skylark were also more conspicuous than usual. Also noted were 60 Curlew. From Brean sluice 300 Wigeon were on view together with 3 Shoveler.

12th January: Quiet today. The Axe estuary produced 300 Wigeon  a Spotted Redshank and 2 Black Tailed Godwit, whilst at Berrow only very small numbers of the commonest waders could be seen over low tide.

11th January: A wing tagged Great Bustard was watched flying over fields by Diamond farm, before settling on the Weston side of the Axe estuary. At Berrow today there was 1 female Tufted Duck, 19 Curlew, 37 Oystercatcher, 2 Bar Tailed Godwit, 19 Redshank, 5 Sanderling and 1,000 Dunlin.

10th January: A thorough count of the thrushes in the dume system from Burnham to Berrow LNR revealed 3,500 Fieldfare, 2,300 Redwing, 500 Song Thrush and 200 Blackbird. Other sightings at Berrow included 17 Curlew, 38 Oystercatcher, 1 Bar Tailed Godwit, 15 Redshank, 5 Sanderling, 1,000+ Dunlin, 2 Snipe and a Mistle Thrush. On the Axe estuary there were 300 Wigeon, 2 Black Tailed Godwit and 2,600 Dunlin.

9th January: Large numbers of thrushes are inhabiting the entire dune buckthorn strip with well in excess of 1,000 Fieldfare and slightly fewer Redwing. At Berrow LNR the highlight was a male Merlin with a supporting cast including Water Rail, Buzzard, Snipe, 25 Linnet, good numbers of Chaffinch and a Goldcrest. 200+ Lapwing flew south. A Woodcock was flushed from the Brean area. The cold weather has seen an increase in Reed Bunting numbers visiting a Berrow garden with a maximum of 23. A local wildlife group visited Berrow this morning and reported 40 Wigeon, 3 Tufted Duck, 1 Bar Tailed Godwit, 8 Sanderling, 1 Mistle Thrush, 50 Skylark and a Woodlark. Late news concerns 2 Goldeneye flying north up the Parrett to the mouth of the Brue estuary, where a Tufted Duck was also present.

8th January: Fieldfare outnumbered Redwing today at Berrow with up to 600 present. Lapwing were on the move again with over 300 south. Berrow beach held 10 Curlew and 600 Dunlin. 2 Mistle Thrush in Burnham are noteworthy.

7th January: Movement had diminished to just 20 Skylark and 30 Lapwing. Large numbers of Redwing were present at Berrow with in excess of 500.

6th January: The area saw its heaviest snowfall for nearly 30 years overnight and this morning. The resultant cold weather movement included 2,500 Lapwing, 100+ Golden Plover, 3 Snipe, 370 Skylark, 350 Woodpigeon, 100 Redwing and a few Meadow Pipit. Elsewhere there was a Woodcock at a Brean caravan park, 30 Snipe, 1 Jack Snipe,  600 Lapwing and 60 Skylark around the Axe/Brean farm area. Brean beach held 1,000 Dunlin, 60 Oystercatcher and 40 Sanderling. At Berrow beach there were c.2,000 Dunlin, 2 Curlew, 1 Turnstone and 5 Redshank. The only other reports concern a Gadwall on the Axe estuary and 2 Kingfisher in Burnham.

5th January: A few more birds included 70 Curlew on the Brue estuary with 30 at Berrow. 94 Oystercatcher were on Stert island whilst a single Bar Tailed Godwit was on the Axe estuary. Only small numbers of Redshank could be found on the Brue, whilst 5 Sanderling were at Berrow. An adult Mediterranean Gull was also on Berrow beach. Around Brean farm there were 550 Lapwing, 20 Golden Plover and 15 Snipe.

4th January: Little to report other than 15 Curlew at Berrow, 76 Oystercatcher at the Parrett estuary and a single Siskin at Apex. Disappointingly, no wildfowl appear to have been displaced from the local reservoirs by the cold weather.

3rd January: Berrow beach remains extremely quiet with just 33 Oystercatcher, 190 Dunlin and 1 Turnstone over high tide. The recent cold weather has seen an increase in Thrush numbers with combined counts from Berrow LNR and Ford common of 450 Fieldfare, 250 Redwing, 65 Blackbird and 30 Song Thrush. The LNR also held 13 Blackcap. The fields around Ford common held 300+ Lapwing, 80 Golden Plover and 6 Stock Dove. At least 1 Black Redstart remains at Brean cove.

2nd January: At the Brue estuary there were 134 Snipe, 1 Jack Snipe and a Spotted Redshank. Berrow beach hosted 32 Curlew, 74 Oystercatcher, 13 Sanderling and 200 Dunlin. The 2 Black Redstart were still at Brean cove.

1st January: A very quiet start to the year. 2 Black Redstart remain at Brean down cove, where there were also 25 Sanderling on the beach. Berrow produced 1 Redshank, 16 Oystercatcher, 22 Sanderling, 200 Dunlin and 2 Raven.